Muzzle cover for firearms



Patented July 3, 1951 MUZZLE COVER FOR FIREARMS John L. Snowden, United States Army, Wilmington, Del.

Application April 30, 1945, Serial No. 591,042

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757') 4 C aims- This invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Governmental for governmental purpOseS, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a device, for use as a cover for the muzzle of a fire-arm and more particularly to sucha device forapplication to the muzzle of a rifle or like weapon for excluding moisture and dirt from the .bore thereof.

It is well known that fire-arms become very easily rusted or corroded and this is particularly true of the surface of the bore in such a weapon by reason of the presence thereon of corrosive substances produced by the firing of the weapon, upon contact therewith of moisture laden air when the bore of the weapon isleft open at the muzzle.

Much difiiculty isalso encountered in keeping the bores of such weapons free from dirt and dust and at all times in clean and efficient operating condition.

In an effort to keep such weapons in the best condition objects such as wads of cotton, pieces of cloth, plugs of wood andthe like are often inserted into the muzzle thereof in order to exclude dirt. Such objects, 'whileeffective to prevent the entrance of dirt into the bore, also close the same against the free circulation of air, resulting in condensation of accumulated moisture on the surface of the metal, causing rapid rusting thereof.

:i'lifis an object of the invention to provide a muzzle cover of simple and durable character, capable of excluding moisture from the bore of a fire-arm, thereby preventing undesirable-rusting or corroding of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a muzzle cover having means for securely holding the same in place over the muzzle of a fire-arm so that it will not be easily jarred or knocked off, but can be quicldy removed when necessary for firing the weapon, or cleaning and inspecting the same.

A still further object of theinvention is to provide a device of the kind described, having an at taching means which makes use of the front sight structure upon the muzzle of the weapon.

The above and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a muzzlecover in the nature of a cap of relatively impervious material adapted to be secured over the muzzle of the weapon and having perforations therein and an inclosed body of filtering material, whereby air is permitted to pass in and out of the bore of the weapon through the muzzle, but in so do ing dirt and moisture is removed therefrom.

The invention will be understood from the following description of the same taken with-the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 isa perspective view of the muzzle cover in position on the muzzle of a weapon;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear-end view of the muzzle cover removed .from the weapon.

lightness, ease of working, and cheapness.

In the drawings I thebody of'the muzzle cover which maybe made of any suitable material such as wood, metal, or plastics, the latter material being preferred .beoause of its relative body I is formed with a hollow head or cupiZ, and a groove.3 rearwardly thereof and opening into the cup. The groove 3 terminates at its forward end in .an arcuate internal shoulder l.

for a purpose to be laterexplained. The upper part of the body I rearwardly of the head or cup 2, may be somewhat raisedabove the front end thereof forming an elevated portion 5 to which is secured one end of a spring cl p structure 6 material of a porous nature, such as fine steel.

wool 9, is positioned inside the cup 2 and may be held therein by means of a plate It! inserted behind the material and having perforations ll therein so that air' can pass through the head or cup, through the perforations 8, material 9 and perforations II.

The spring clip structure 6 may be secured in any suitable manner to the body of the muzzle cover, as by embedding the end 12 thereof in the material of the elevated portion 5, or by means of the screws l3 passing through holes in the end [2 into the portion 5. The spring clip 6 has an upwardly offset portion 14 adapted to extend freely above and over the front sight blade indicated at l5 of a weapon l6 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. At the rearextremity of the upwardly offset portion M a downwardly bent loop I8 is provided to ive the structure greater resiliency. The forward portion l9 of the loop l8 bears against the rear edge of the sight blade !5 to assist in maintaining the muzzle cover securely in position. Rearwardly of the loop Hi there is a portion 20 offset so as to slope downwardly in the direction of the lon itudinal axis of hollow body I and ending in a ring 2| bearing against the barrel rearwardly of the sight blade, by which ring 2| the cover may be lifted off the muzzle of the weapon.

It will be seen that in placing the muzzle cover in position on the muzzle of the weapon IS, the wall of the groove 3 is engaged with the end of the muzzle, and as the cover is moved back over the muzzle the ring 2| of spring clip 6 engages the sight blade l5. When the end of the muzzle comes into contact with the internal shoulder 4 the spring clip 6 will snap into the position shown in Fig. 2, with the portion IQ of the loop I 8 bearing on the rear edge of the sight blade [5, thus' accurately holding the cover in place.

When in place the cover I completely covers the muzzle, and air entering therein must first find its way through the perforations B, porous material 9, and perforations ll whereby moisture and dirt are effectively filtered from the same, thus preventing rusting of the surface of the bore of the weapon and accumulation of dirt therein. It will also be apparent that should the muzzle end of the weapon come into contact with foreign material such as soil or mud, which may often be the case under combat conditions, the muzzle cover thereon will prevent the entrance of such material into the bore of the weapon, and will not be easily knocked off by shaking or jarring.

To remove the cover it is simply necessary to grasp the ring 2| of the spring clip 6 and pull upwardly thereon, when the clip will be removed from the sight blade and the coverv will then slip off the end of the muzzle.

It will thus be apparent that the invention provides a muzzle cover of simple design and rugged construction, capable of being quickly positioned on the weapon or removed therefrom, and affording a maximum of protection of the bore of the weapon against dirt and moisture without sealing the same against the entrance of air.

Having thus clearly shown and described the invention, what is claimed and desired to secure 7 by Letters Patent is:

1. Muzzle cover for a fire-arm with barrel, comprising a hollow body having a perforated end, a cylindrical side wall having an inner circurnference equal to the outer circumference of the muzzle end of said barrel, a perforated circular plate in said cylindrical body spaced from said perforated end, the circumference of said plate exceeding the circumference of the bore of said fire-arm, a filtering medium confined in said body between said perforated end and said perforated plate, and resilient means on said body for releasably retaining said muzzle cover on said barrel and centering said filtering medium over said muzzle.

2. Muzzle cover for a fire-arm with barrel and front sight structure, comprising a hollow body having a perforated end, a cylindrical side wall having an inner circumference equal to the outer circumference of the muzzle end of said barrel, a perforated circular plate in said cylindrical body spaced from said perforated end, the circumference of said plate exceeding the circumference of the bore of said fire-arm, a filtering medium confined in said body between said perforated end and said perforated plate, and resilient means on said body for releasably retaining said muzzle cover on said barrel and centering said filtering medium over said muzzle, said means comprising a spring rearwardly extending from said body and embracing said front sight structure and frictionally engaging said barrel behind said front sight structure.

3. Muzzle cover for a fire-arm with barrel and front sight structure, comprising a hollow body having a perforated end, a cylindrical side wall having an inner circumference equal to the outer circumference of the muzzle end of said barrel,

a perforated circular plate in said cylindrical body spaced from said perforated end, the circumference of said plate exceeding the circum ference of the bore of said fire-arm, a filtering medium confined in said body between said perforated end and said perforated plate, and resilient means on said body for releasably retaining said muzzle cover on said barrel and centering said filtering medium over said muzzle,

said means comprising a spring rearwardly extending from said body and embracing said front sight structure and terminating in a manually graspable ring frictionally engaging said barrel behind said front sight structure.

' 4. Muzzle cover for a fire-arm with barrel and front sight structure, comprising a hollow body having a perforated end, a cylindrical side wall having an inner circumference equal to the outer circumference of the muzzle end of said barrel, a perforated circular plate in said cylindrical body spaced fromv said perforated end, the circumference of said plate exceeding the circume ference of the bore of said fire-arm, a filtering medium confined in said body between said perforated end and said perforated plate, and resilient means on said body for releasably retaining said muzzle cover on. said barrel and centering said filtering medium over said muzzle, said means comprising a spring rearwardly extending from said body and offset upwardly to embrace said front sight structure and then downwardly to frictionally engage said barrel behind said front sight structure and having a manually graspable terminal portion for quick release of said muzzle cover.

JOHN L. SNOWDEN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 540,748 Layton June 11, 1895 855,615 Buxbaum June 4, 1907 890,387 White et al. June 9, 1908 2,008,677 Booharin July 23, 1935 2,186,908 Page et al Jan. 9, 1940 2,347,031 Cupery Apr. 18, 1944 2,409,278 Hedges Oct. 15, 1946 2,465,163 Lockwood Mar. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 25,822 Germany Feb. 5, 1884 72,181 Switzerland Apr. 17, 1916 12,087 Great Britain June 8, 1916 74,034 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1917 

